DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2, 9, 11, 16-17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces (US 20190154267 A) in view of Okamoto (JP 2007318355 A and see the PDF attached).
Regarding claim 1, Garces discloses, a cooking system (see system 100 in Fig. 1) comprising:
a microwave (see interactive assembly 110 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0033 “hood casing 116 could be part of a microwave or other appliance designed to be located over cooktop surface 324”) configured to:
in response to a received user command (see Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0075 “User 402 may wish to operate interactive assembly 110 remotely. In particular, user may wish to operate operational features that include activating portions of interactive assembly 110 (e.g., camera assembly 114, lighting assembly 134, image monitor 112, or ventilation assembly 140), turning on cooktop appliance 300, selecting a temperature or heat setting for cooktop appliance 300, or choosing a mode of operation of interactive assembly 110” and para 0057 “instructions 516B could be instructions for receiving/transmitting images or image signals, transmitting/receiving recipe signals, etc”), generate a first image (see image taken camera 114A in Fig. 1) by photographing a cooktop (see cooktop appliance 300 in Fig. 1) located below the microwave (see Fig. 1) through a first camera (see first camera 114A in Fig. 1 and disclosed in para 0035 “first camera assembly 114A may selectively capture an image covering all or some of cooktop surface 324 […] first camera assembly 114A may capture an image covering one or more heating elements 326 of cooktop appliance 300”) [[or generate a second image by photographing an inside of the microwave through a second camera]], and
transmit at least one of the first image (disclosed in para 0034 “Once received by controller 510A, the image signal may be further processed at controller 510A or transmitted to a separate device (e.g., remote server 404—FIG. 5) in live or real-time for remote viewing (e.g., via one or more social media platforms)”) [[and the second image]] to a display device (see user device 408 via remote server 404 in Fig. 5); and
the display device (see user device 408 via remote server 404 in Fig. 5) configured to:
receive at least one of the first image [[and the second image]] from the microwave, and
display the received at least one image ((see user device 408 via remote server 404 in Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0034 “Once received by controller 510A, the image signal may be further processed at controller 510A or transmitted to a separate device (e.g., remote server 404—FIG. 5) in live or real-time for remote viewing (e.g., via one or more social media platforms)”).
However, Garces does not explicitly disclose,
identify that at least one of the first camera or the second camera is stained with a
foreign substance, and
after a threshold time has passed with the at least one of the first camera or the
second camera stained with the foreign substance, transmit a notification message
indicating that the at least one of the first camera or the second camera is stained with the
foreign substance.
Nonetheless, Okamoto teaches,
identify that at least one of the first camera or the second camera is stained with a
foreign substance (disclosed in the specification “The difference image generation unit 103 acquires a plurality of image data captured at different times by the camera 101 from the image storage unit 102, generates difference image data that is a difference between these image data, and generates a difference image update unit 104 […] The difference image update unit 104 compares the previous difference image (stored in the difference image storage unit 105) generated by the difference image generation unit 103 and the current difference image for each pixel, and the larger difference is obtained. The current difference image is updated with the pixels. The updated difference image is output to the difference image storage unit 105 and stored in the difference image storage unit 105”), and
after a threshold time has passed with the at least one of the first camera or the
second camera stained with the foreign substance (disclosed in the specification “When the difference image update unit 104 recognizes from the notification of the counter 108 that the number of update of the difference image has reached a predetermined number of times, the difference image update unit 104 uses the latest difference image stored in the difference image storage unit 105 as the stain determination unit 106”), transmit a notification message
indicating that the at least one of the first camera or the second camera is stained with the
foreign substance (disclosed in the specification “The dirt determination unit 106 determines the presence or absence of lens dirt in the camera 101 based on the latest difference image output from the difference image update unit 104, and outputs the determination result to the notification unit 107. When the determination result output from the dirt determination unit 106 indicates “dirty”, the notification unit 107 notifies the user of the presence of dirt, for example, by outputting synthesized speech from a speaker”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the camera(s) of the microwave system of Garces wherein the camera(s) is/are configured to identify that at least one of the first camera or the second camera is stained with a foreign substance, and after a threshold time has passed with the at least one of the first camera or the second camera stained with the foreign substance, transmit a notification message
indicating that the at least one of the first camera or the second camera is stained with the foreign substance as taught and/or suggested by Okamoto in order to urge the user to clean the camera since when the camera(s) becomes/become very dirty, the images taken by the camera(s) are indistinct or partially hidden which would affect the cooking process.
Regarding claim 2, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the cooking system of claim 1, and further Garces discloses, wherein the display device (see user device 408 via remote server 404 in Fig. 5), in response to receiving of a user input, is further configured to transmit a control command for controlling at least one of the microwave and the cooktop to the microwave, and wherein the microwave is further configured to: receive the control command from the display device, and controls operations of at least one of the microwave and the cooktop according to the received control command (see Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0060 “one or more heating elements 326, 332 of cooktop appliance 300 may be activated or directed to a specific heat output (e.g., in units of British Thermal Units or temperature) based on one or more instruction signals received from controller 510A of interactive assembly 110 or remote server 404”).
Regarding claim 9, Garces discloses, a microwave (see interactive assembly 110 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0033 “hood casing 116 could be part of a microwave or other appliance designed to be located over cooktop surface 324”) comprising:
an electronic unit (see hood casing 116 in Fig. 1);
a first camera (see camera 114A in Fig. 1);
a communicator (see network interface 520A in Fig. 5); and
a processor (see processor 512A in Fig. 5) configured to, in response to a received user command (see Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0075 “User 402 may wish to operate interactive assembly 110 remotely. In particular, user may wish to operate operational features that include activating portions of interactive assembly 110 (e.g., camera assembly 114, lighting assembly 134, image monitor 112, or ventilation assembly 140), turning on cooktop appliance 300, selecting a temperature or heat setting for cooktop appliance 300, or choosing a mode of operation of interactive assembly 110” and para 0057 “instructions 516B could be instructions for receiving/transmitting images or image signals, transmitting/receiving recipe signals, etc”), control the communicator (see Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0055 “Controller 510A includes a network interface 520A such that interactive assembly 110 can connect to and communicate over one or more networks (e.g., network 502) with one or more network nodes” and para 0053 “interactive assembly 110 can be communicatively coupled with network 502 and various other nodes, such as a remote server 404, cooktop appliance 300, one or more secondary appliances 410, and one or more user devices 408”) to generate a first image (see image taken camera 114A in Fig. 1) by photographing a cooktop (see cooktop appliance 300 in Fig. 1) positioned below the microwave (see Fig. 1) through the first camera (see first camera 114A in Fig. 1 and disclosed in para 0035 “first camera assembly 114A may selectively capture an image covering all or some of cooktop surface 324 […] first camera assembly 114A may capture an image covering one or more heating elements 326 of cooktop appliance 300”) and transmit the first image (see Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0034 “Once received by controller 510A, the image signal may be further processed at controller 510A or transmitted to a separate device (e.g., remote server 404—FIG. 5) in live or real-time for remote viewing (e.g., via one or more social media platforms)”) to a display device (see user device 408 via remote server 404 in Fig. 5).
However, Garces does not explicitly disclose,
identify that the first camera is stained with a foreign substance; and
after a threshold time has passed with the first camera stained with the foreign
substance, control the communicator to transmit a notification message indicating that the first
camera is stained with the foreign substance.
Nonetheless, Okamoto teaches,
identify that the first camera is stained with a foreign substance (disclosed in the specification “The difference image generation unit 103 acquires a plurality of image data captured at different times by the camera 101 from the image storage unit 102, generates difference image data that is a difference between these image data, and generates a difference image update unit 104 […] The difference image update unit 104 compares the previous difference image (stored in the difference image storage unit 105) generated by the difference image generation unit 103 and the current difference image for each pixel, and the larger difference is obtained. The current difference image is updated with the pixels. The updated difference image is output to the difference image storage unit 105 and stored in the difference image storage unit 105”), and
after a threshold time has passed with the first camera stained with the foreign
substance (disclosed in the specification “When the difference image update unit 104 recognizes from the notification of the counter 108 that the number of update of the difference image has reached a predetermined number of times, the difference image update unit 104 uses the latest difference image stored in the difference image storage unit 105 as the stain determination unit 106”), control the communicator to transmit a notification message indicating that the first
camera is stained with the foreign substance (disclosed in the specification “The dirt determination unit 106 determines the presence or absence of lens dirt in the camera 101 based on the latest difference image output from the difference image update unit 104, and outputs the determination result to the notification unit 107. When the determination result output from the dirt determination unit 106 indicates “dirty”, the notification unit 107 notifies the user of the presence of dirt, for example, by outputting synthesized speech from a speaker”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify processor and the communicator of the microwave system of Garces wherein the processor is configured to identify that the first camera is stained with a foreign substance; and after a threshold time has passed with the first camera stained with the foreign substance, control the communicator to transmit a notification message indicating that the first camera is stained with the foreign substance as taught and/or suggested by Okamoto in order to urge the user to clean the camera since when the camera(s) becomes/become very dirty, the images taken by the camera(s) are indistinct or partially hidden which would affect the cooking process.
Regarding claim 11, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the microwave of claim 9, and further Garces discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a control command to control at least one of the microwave and the cooktop from the display device; and controls operations of at least one of the microwave and the cooktop according to the received control command(see Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0060 “one or more heating elements 326, 332 of cooktop appliance 300 may be activated or directed to a specific heat output (e.g., in units of British Thermal Units or temperature) based on one or more instruction signals received from controller 510A of interactive assembly 110 or remote server 404”).
Regarding claim 16, Garces discloses, a display device (see Fig. 5) comprising:
a display (see user device 408 via remote server 404 in Fig. 5);
a communicator (see network interface 520B in Fig. 5); and
a processor (see processor 514B in Fig. 5) configured to:
receive, through the communicator (see Fig. 5), at least one image (see image taken camera 114A in Fig. 1) including a first image that photographs a cooktop (see cooktop appliance 300 in Fig. 1) located below a microwave (see interactive assembly 110 in Fig. 1 and disclosed in para 0033 “hood casing 116 could be part of a microwave or other appliance designed to be located over cooktop surface 324”) [[and a second image that photographs inside the microwave]], and
displays the received at least one image on the display (disclosed in para 0034 “Once received by controller 510A, the image signal may be further processed at controller 510A or transmitted to a separate device (e.g., remote server 404—FIG. 5) in live or real-time for remote viewing (e.g., via one or more social media platforms)”).
However, Garces does not explicitly disclose, receive, through the communicator, a notification message indicating that at least one camera is stained with a foreign substance.
Nonetheless, Okamoto teaches, receive, through the communicator, a notification message indicating that at least one camera is stained with a foreign substance (disclosed in the specification “The dirt determination unit 106 determines the presence or absence of lens dirt in the camera 101 based on the latest difference image output from the difference image update unit 104, and outputs the determination result to the notification unit 107. When the determination result output from the dirt determination unit 106 indicates “dirty”, the notification unit 107 notifies the user of the presence of dirt, for example, by outputting synthesized speech from a speaker”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify processor and the communicator of the display device of Garces wherein the processor is configured to receive, through the communicator, a notification message indicating that at least one camera is stained with a foreign substance as taught and/or suggested by Okamoto in order to urge the user to clean the camera since when the camera(s) becomes/become very dirty, the images taken by the camera(s) are indistinct or partially hidden which would affect the cooking process.
Regarding claim 17, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the display device of claim 16, and further Garces discloses, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a control command to control at least one of the microwave and the cooktop to the microwave, in response to receiving of a user input (see Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0060 “one or more heating elements 326, 332 of cooktop appliance 300 may be activated or directed to a specific heat output (e.g., in units of British Thermal Units or temperature) based on one or more instruction signals received from controller 510A of interactive assembly 110 or remote server 404”).
Regarding claim 20, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the display device of claim 16, and further Garces discloses, wherein:
the communicator (see network interface 520B in Fig. 5) is configured to communicate wirelessly (see Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0059 “Remote server 404 includes a network interface 520B such that interactive remote server 404 can connect to and communicate over one or more networks (e.g., network 502) with one or more network nodes”) with the cooktop (see Fig. 5); and the processor is further configured to transmit a control command to the cooktop, wherein the control command includes at least one of:
instructions to power on or off of the cooktop,
instructions to set a cooking time of the cooktop, or
instructions to set a temperature of the cooktop (see Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0060 “one or more heating elements 326, 332 of cooktop appliance 300 may be activated or directed to a specific heat output (e.g., in units of British Thermal Units or temperature) based on one or more instruction signals received from controller 510A of interactive assembly 110 or remote server 404”).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto, in further view of Kamei (US 20170299194 A1) and in further view of Binder (US 20190154439 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the cooking system of claim 1.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto does not explicitly discloses wherein the first camera photographs a first cooking container positioned on the cooktop from a first photographing direction, and the second camera photographs a second cooking container positioned inside the microwave in a second photographing direction, wherein the microwave is further configured to modify the first image that photographs the first cooking container in the first photographing direction and the second image that photographs the second cooking container in the second photographing direction to images corresponding to a third photographing direction, wherein the third photographing direction corresponds to a vertical direction of the first and second cooking container.
Nonetheless, Kamei teaches, wherein the first camera (see camera 192 Fig. 1) photographs a first cooking container (see cooking container 400 in Fig 1) positioned on the cooktop (see cooking heater 300 in Fig. 1) from a first photographing direction (see Fig. 1), and the second camera (see processing unit 190 in Fig. 12 wherein the processing unit 190 in the first embodiment, each of the processing units 190R, 190U, 190L includes the light emitter 191, the camera 192, and the infrared sensor 193 as disclosed in para 0121) photographs a second cooking container (see cooking container 400 in Fig. 12) positioned inside the microwave (see the microwave oven 350 in Fig. 12) in a second photographing direction (see Fig. 12).
Since Garces discloses the microwave is positioned above the cooktop with the camera mounted below the microwave to capture the image of the cooktop, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the microwave of the cooking system of Garces wherein the first camera photographs a first cooking container positioned on the cooktop from a first photographing direction, and further comprises the second camera photographs a second cooking container positioned inside the microwave in a second photographing direction as taught/suggested by Kamei in order to not only monitor the first cooking container located on the cooktop below the microwave but also monitor the second cooking container inside the microwave. Doing so would help to monitor cooking containers in different appliances as needed as disclosed by Kamei.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei does not explicitly disclose wherein the microwave is further configured to modify the first image that photographs the first cooking container in the first photographing direction and the second image that photographs the second cooking container in the second photographing direction to images corresponding to a third photographing direction, wherein the third photographing direction corresponds to a vertical direction of the first and second cooking container.
Binder teaches, wherein a camera (see camera 280a in Fig. 29) is configured to modify the first/second image (see Fig. 29a “picture taken of a building having a perspective distortion”) that photographs a first/second view (see view 290 in Fig. 29) in the first photographing direction (see Fig. 29 and Fig. 29a) to image corresponding to a third photographing direction (see Fig. 29b “picture taken of a building having a corrected perspective distortion”), wherein the third photographing direction corresponds to a vertical direction of the first/second view (see Fig. 29a and Fig. 29b).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the cameras of the microwave system of Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei wherein the cameras of the microwave are configured to modify the first image that photographs the first cooking container in the first photographing direction and the second image that photographs the second cooking container in the second photographing direction to images corresponding to a third photographing direction, wherein the third photographing direction corresponds to a vertical direction of the first and second cooking container as taught and/or suggested by Binder in order to correct the perspective distortion of the image as disclosed in para 0999 by Binder.
Claims 4 -5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto and in further view of Churchill (US 20150234545).
Regarding claim 4, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the cooking system of claim 1, and Garces further discloses, the display device is further configured to:
in response to a received user input to display at least one image out of the first image [[and the second image]] is received, receive the at least one image out of the first image [[and the second image]] from the microwave (disclosed in para 0034 “Once received by controller 510A, the image signal may be further processed at controller 510A or transmitted to a separate device (e.g., remote server 404—FIG. 5) in live or real-time for remote viewing (e.g., via one or more social media platforms)”).
However, Garces in view of Okamoto does not explicitly disclose wherein while a content is being displayed on the display device, and the display device is configured to overlap the received at least one image with the content; and display the received at least one image with the content.
Nonetheless, Churchill teaches, wherein while a content (see first stage 202 in Fig. 2) is being displayed on the display device (see television 104 in Fig. 2), wherein the display device (see television 104 in Fig. 2) is configured to overlap the received at least one image with the content (see stage 204 with video chat in Fig. 2 and third stage 206 with fill overlay menu 402 in Fig. 4) and display the received at least one image with the content (see live TV in Figs. 1-5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the display device of Garces wherein while a content is being displayed on the display device, and the display device is configured to overlap the received at least one image with the content; and display the received at least one image with the content as taught/suggested by Churchill in order to obtain a multitasking mode for viewing the television program along with another application as disclosed in para 0016 by Churchill.
Regarding claim 5, Garces in view of Okamoto and in further view of Churchill discloses, the cooking system of claim 4.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto does not explicitly disclose, wherein the display device is further configured to, in response to a received user input to change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image, change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image according to the received user input.
Churchill further teaches, wherein the display device (104) is further configured to, in response to a received user input to change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image, change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image according to the received user input (see Figs. 1-5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the display device of Garces wherein the display device is further configured to, in response to a received user input to change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image, change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image according to the received user input as taught/suggested by Churchill in order to obtain a multitasking mode for viewing the television program along with another application as disclosed in para 0016 by Churchill.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto and in further view of Rafii (US 20170367151 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the cooking system of claim 1.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto does not explicitly disclose wherein: the microwave is further configured to:
identify a degree of bubble generation in a cooking container located inside the microwave or a cooking container positioned on the cooktop, based on the first image and the second image, and
transmits a notification message indicating the identified degree of bubbles to the display device; and
the display device is further configured to display the notification message received from the microwave.
Nonetheless, Rafii teaches, a camera (see thermal image camera 2 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) is further configured to:
identify a degree of bubble generation in [[a cooking container located inside the microwave or]] a cooking container (see cookware 5 in Fig. 1) positioned on the cooktop (see cooking heater 3 in Fig. 1), based on the first image [[and the second image]] (see Fig. 14 and disclosed in para 0116-0118 “the hot region having 70° C. or higher (hatched portion in (c) and (d) FIGS. 14) in a part of the edge is gradually increased in size, and the extent of the boil-off bubbles is increased […] as shown in (d) of FIG. 15, the hot region having 70° C. or higher (hatched portion in (d) of FIG. 15) across the lid 52a loses its shape, and boiling over actually occurs. Such loss of shape on the thermal image occurs because the extent of the boil-off bubbles through a gap between the cookware 52 and the lid 52a is increased to push up the lid 52a and some of the content boils over the cookware 52 […] the boil-over determination can be made by detecting the hot portion in the thermal image indicating boil-off bubbles appearing on the edge (edge portion) of the lid or the loss of shape of the hot portion in the thermal image appearing across the lid. Thus, the content in the cookware 5 can be prevented from boiling over the cookware 5 by detecting occurrence thereof beforehand, regardless of the material of the cookware 5”), and transmits a notification message indicating the identified degree of bubbles to the display device (see notification device 6 in Fig. 1); and the display device is further configured to display the notification message received from the camera (see notification device 6 in Fig. 1 and disclosed in para 0058 “the notifier 20 transmits notification information indicating information notifying the user of the possibility of boiling over. In this embodiment, for example, the notifier 20 transmits the notification information indicating the possibility of boiling over through e-mail, for example, to the notification device 6”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the camera of the microwave system of Garces wherein the microwave is further configured to: identify a degree of bubble generation in a cooking container located inside the microwave the second image, and transmits a notification message indicating the identified degree of bubbles to the display device; and the display device is further configured to display the notification message received from the microwave as taught/suggested by Rafii in order to prevent from boiling over the cookware/container by detecting occurrence thereof beforehand, regardless of the material of the cookware/container as disclosed in para 0018 by Rafii.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto and in further view of Wu (CN107504536A and see the PDF attached).
Regarding claim 7, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the cooking system of claim 1.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto does not explicitly disclose the microwave is further configured to
identify a degree of smoke generation in a cooking container positioned inside the microwave or in a cooking container positioned on the cooktop, based on the first image and the second image,
transmit a notification message indicating the identified degree of smoke, and when the identified degree of smoke is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, stop an electronic unit or drive a hood of the microwave; and
the display device is further configured to display the notification message received from the microwave.
Wu teaches, the system is configured to identify a degree of smoke generation in a cooking container positioned inside the microwave or in a cooking container (see cooker 5) positioned on the cooktop (see hearth 1), based on the first image and the second image, transmit a notification message indicating the identified degree of smoke, and when the identified degree of smoke is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, stop an electronic unit or drive a hood of the microwave; and the display device is further configured to display the notification message received from the microwave (disclosed in para 0008-009 of the summary of the invention of the English Translation “The image sensor is also provided with a visible light laser source, which is used for correcting the angle of the mirror, and the generated visible laser light is reflected by the reflector onto the cooktop or the pan under the exhaust hood. The hood also has a control unit. The control unit receives the image acquired by the image sensor and determines whether smoke is generated. If the control unit determines that there is smoke generation, the exhaust fan of the hood is turned on”).
Since Garces discloses, in para 0046, ventilation assembly 140 includes hood casing 116 and an air handler 142 (e.g., fan or blower) in fluid communication with hood casing 116 to motivate an airflow through one or more passages 144, 146, 148 or cavities defined within hood casing 116, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the microwave system of Garces the system is configured to identify a degree of smoke generation in a cooking container positioned inside the microwave based the second image, transmit a notification message indicating the identified degree of smoke, and when the identified degree of smoke is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, stop an electronic unit or drive a hood of the microwave; and the display device is further configured to display the notification message received from the microwave as taught/suggested by Wu in order to accurately detect the fumes produced during cooking and to control fumes in a timely manner to draw fumes away as disclosed in para 0004 of the Background technique by Wu.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto and in further view of Haas (US 20110188702 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the cooking system of claim 1.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto does not explicitly disclose wherein the microwave is further configured to
identify a degree of blur from at least one image out of the first image and the second image,
when the degree of blur is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, identify a camera that photographs an image out of the first camera and the second camera, and
operates a fan that is provided in a vicinity of the identified camera.
Nonetheless, Haas teaches, the system is configured to identify a degree of blur from at least one image out of the first image and the second image, when the degree of blur is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, identify a camera that photographs an image out of the first camera and the second camera, and operates a fan that is provided in a vicinity of the identified camera (disclosed in para 0039 “Since a blurred image results from a fog, the method estimates the degree of image blurredness for fog determination. Based on the fog level, the method increases the fan speed to counter the fog until the image clears up”).
Since Garces discloses, in para 0046, ventilation assembly 140 includes hood casing 116 and an air handler 142 (e.g., fan or blower) in fluid communication with hood casing 116 to motivate an airflow through one or more passages 144, 146, 148 or cavities defined within hood casing 116, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the camera of the microwave system of Garces the system is configured to identify a degree of blur from at least one image out of the first image and the second image, when the degree of blur is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, identify a camera that photographs an image out of the first camera and the second camera, and operates a fan that is provided in a vicinity of the identified camera as taught and/or suggested by Haas in order to protect the camera with an anti-fog as disclosed in para 0037 by Haas.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto and in further view of Kamei (US 20170299194 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the microwave of claim 9, in particular, Garces discloses the processor is configured to transmit the image that is photographed from the camera to the display device (see Fig. 5 and disclosed in para 0034 “Once received by controller 510A, the image signal may be further processed at controller 510A or transmitted to a separate device (e.g., remote server 404—FIG. 5) in live or real-time for remote viewing (e.g., via one or more social media platforms)”) to a display device (see user device 408 via remote server 404 in Fig. 5).
However, Garces in view of Okamoto does not explicitly disclose further comprising: a second camera, wherein the processor is further configured to controls the communicator to generate a second image by photographing an inside of the microwave through the second camera, and transmit the second image to a display device.
Nonetheless, Kamei teaches, further comprising: a second camera (see processing unit 190 in Fig. 12 wherein the processing unit 190 in the first embodiment, each of the processing units 190R, 190U, 190L includes the light emitter 191, the camera 192, and the infrared sensor 193 as disclosed in para 0121), wherein the processor (see control device 110a in Fig. 12 and Fig. 13) is further configured to controls the communicator (see Fig. 13) to generate a second image (see cooking container 400 in Fig. 12) by photographing an inside of the microwave (see the microwave oven 350 in Fig. 12) through the second camera (see Fig. 12).
Since Garces discloses the microwave is positioned above the cooktop with the camera mounted below the microwave to capture the image of the cooktop and the processor is configured to transmit the image that is photographed from the camera to the display device, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the microwave of the microwave of Garces wherein the microwave further comprises a second camera, wherein the processor is further configured to controls the communicator to generate a second image by photographing an inside of the microwave through the second camera, and transmit the second image to a display device as taught/suggested by Kamei in order to not only monitor the first cooking container located on the cooktop below the microwave but also monitor the second cooking container inside the microwave. Doing so would help to monitor cooking containers in different appliances as needed.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto, in view of Kamei and in further view of Binder (US 20190154439 A1)
Regarding claim 12, Garces in view of Okamoto and in further view of Kamei discloses, the microwave of claim 10, and further Garces discloses wherein the first camera (114A) is disposed at a specific position of the microwave to photograph the surface positioned on the cooktop in a diagonal direction (see Fig. 1), in view of Kamei teaches, wherein the first camera (see camera 192 Fig. 1) is disposed at a specific position of the microwave to photograph a cooking container (see cooking container 400 in Fig 1) positioned on the cooktop (see cooking heater 300 in Fig. 1) in a diagonal direction (see Fig. 1), the second camera (see processing unit 190 in Fig. 12 wherein the processing unit 190 in the first embodiment, each of the processing units 190R, 190U, 190L includes the light emitter 191, the camera 192, and the infrared sensor 193 as disclosed in para 0121) is disposed at a specific position of the microwave (see the microwave oven 350 in Fig. 12) to photograph a cooking container (see cooking container 400 in Fig. 12) positioned inside the microwave in a diagonal direction (see Fig. 1), wherein it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the microwave of the cooking system of Garces wherein the first camera is disposed at a specific position of the microwave to photograph a cooking container positioned on the cooktop in a diagonal direction, the second camera is disposed at a specific position of the microwave to photograph a cooking container positioned inside the microwave in a diagonal direction as taught/suggested by Kamei in order to not only monitor the first cooking container located on the cooktop below the microwave but also monitor the second cooking container inside the microwave. Doing so would help to monitor cooking containers in different appliances as needed.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto and in further view of Kamei does not explicitly disclose
wherein the processor is further configured to:
modify an image that photographs the cooking container in the diagonal direction by the first camera and the second camera; and
transmits the modified image to the display device,
wherein the modified image corresponds to an image photographed the cooking container in a vertical direction.
Binder teaches, wherein a camera (see camera 280a in Fig. 29) is configured to modify the first/second image (see Fig. 29a “picture taken of a building having a perspective distortion”) that photographs a first/second view (see view 290 in Fig. 29) in the first photographing direction (see Fig. 29 and Fig. 29a) to image corresponding to a third photographing direction (see Fig. 29b “picture taken of a building having a corrected perspective distortion”), wherein the third photographing direction corresponds to a vertical direction of the first/second view (see Fig. 29a and Fig. 29b).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the processor of the microwave system of Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei wherein the processor is further configured to: modify an image that photographs the cooking container in the diagonal direction by the first camera and the second camera; and transmits the modified image to the display device, wherein the modified image corresponds to an image photographed the cooking container in a vertical direction as taught and/or suggested by Binder in order to correct the perspective distortion of the image as disclosed in para 0999 by Binder.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto, in view of Kamei and in further view of Rafii (US 20170367151 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei discloses, the microwave of claim 10.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei does not explicitly disclose wherein the processor is further configured to:
identify a degree of bubble generation in a cooking container located inside the microwave or a cooking container positioned on the cooktop, based on the first image and the second image; and
transmits a notification message indicating the identified degree of bubbles to the display device.
Nonetheless, Rafii teaches, a processor (see cooking support system in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) is further configured to:
identify a degree of bubble generation in [[a cooking container located inside the microwave or]] a cooking container (see cookware 5 in Fig. 1) positioned on the cooktop (see cooking heater 3 in Fig. 1), based on the first image [[and the second image]] (see Fig. 14 and disclosed in para 0116-0118 “the hot region having 70° C. or higher (hatched portion in (c) and (d) FIGS. 14) in a part of the edge is gradually increased in size, and the extent of the boil-off bubbles is increased […] as shown in (d) of FIG. 15, the hot region having 70° C. or higher (hatched portion in (d) of FIG. 15) across the lid 52a loses its shape, and boiling over actually occurs. Such loss of shape on the thermal image occurs because the extent of the boil-off bubbles through a gap between the cookware 52 and the lid 52a is increased to push up the lid 52a and some of the content boils over the cookware 52 […] the boil-over determination can be made by detecting the hot portion in the thermal image indicating boil-off bubbles appearing on the edge (edge portion) of the lid or the loss of shape of the hot portion in the thermal image appearing across the lid. Thus, the content in the cookware 5 can be prevented from boiling over the cookware 5 by detecting occurrence thereof beforehand, regardless of the material of the cookware 5”), and transmits a notification message indicating the identified degree of bubbles to the display device (see notification device 6 in Fig. 1 and disclosed in para 0058 “the notifier 20 transmits notification information indicating information notifying the user of the possibility of boiling over. In this embodiment, for example, the notifier 20 transmits the notification information indicating the possibility of boiling over through e-mail, for example, to the notification device 6”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the processor of the microwave system of Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei wherein the processor is further configured to: identify a degree of bubble generation in a cooking container located inside the microwave or a cooking container positioned on the cooktop, based on the first image and the second image; and transmits a notification message indicating the identified degree of bubbles to the display device as taught/suggested by Rafii in order to prevent from boiling over the cookware/container by detecting occurrence thereof beforehand, regardless of the material of the cookware/container as disclosed in para 0018 by Rafii.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei and in further view of Wu (CN107504536A).
Regarding claim 14, Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei discloses, the microwave of claim 10.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei does not explicitly disclose wherein the processor is further configured to:
identify a degree of smoke generation in a cooking container positioned inside the microwave or in a cooking container positioned on the cooktop, based on the first image and the second image;
transmits a notification message indicating the identified degree of smoke; and
when the identified degree of smoke is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, stop the electronic unit or drive a hood of the microwave.
Nonetheless, Wu teaches, the system is configured to identify a degree of smoke generation in a cooking container positioned inside the microwave or in a cooking container (cooker 5) positioned on the cooktop (hearth 1), based on the first image and the second image; transmits a notification message indicating the identified degree of smoke; and when the identified degree of smoke is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, stop the electronic unit or drive a hood of the microwave (disclosed in para 0008-009 of the summary of the invention of the English Translation “The image sensor is also provided with a visible light laser source, which is used for correcting the angle of the mirror, and the generated visible laser light is reflected by the reflector onto the cooktop or the pan under the exhaust hood. The hood also has a control unit. The control unit receives the image acquired by the image sensor and determines whether smoke is generated. If the control unit determines that there is smoke generation, the exhaust fan of the hood is turned on”).
Since Garces discloses, in para 0046, ventilation assembly 140 includes hood casing 116 and an air handler 142 (e.g., fan or blower) in fluid communication with hood casing 116 to motivate an airflow through one or more passages 144, 146, 148 or cavities defined within hood casing 116, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the processor of the microwave system of Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei wherein the processor is configured to the system is configured to identify a degree of smoke generation in a cooking container positioned inside the microwave or in a cooking container positioned on the cooktop, based on the first image and the second image; transmits a notification message indicating the identified degree of smoke; and when the identified degree of smoke is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, stop the electronic unit or drive a hood of the microwave as taught/suggested by Wu in order to accurately detect the fumes produced during cooking and to control fumes in a timely manner to draw fumes away as disclosed in para 0004 of the Background technique by Wu.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei and in further view of Haas (US 20110188702 A1).
Regarding claim 15, Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei discloses, the microwave of claim 10.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei does not explicitly disclose wherein the processor is further configured to:
identifies a degree of blur from at least one image out of the first image and the second image;
when the degree of blur is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, identify a camera that photographs an image out of the first camera and the second camera; and
operates a fan that is provided in a vicinity of the identified camera.
Nonetheless, Haas teaches, the system is configured to identify a degree of blur from at least one image out of the first image and the second image, when the degree of blur is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, identify a camera that photographs an image out of the first camera and the second camera, and operates a fan that is provided in a vicinity of the identified camera (disclosed in para 0039 “Since a blurred image results from a fog, the method estimates the degree of image blurredness for fog determination. Based on the fog level, the method increases the fan speed to counter the fog until the image clears up”).
Since Garces discloses, in para 0046, ventilation assembly 140 includes hood casing 116 and an air handler 142 (e.g., fan or blower) in fluid communication with hood casing 116 to motivate an airflow through one or more passages 144, 146, 148 or cavities defined within hood casing 116, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify processor of the microwave system of Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Kamei wherein the processor is configured to identifies a degree of blur from at least one image out of the first image and the second image; when the degree of blur is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, identify a camera that photographs an image out of the first camera and the second camera; and operates a fan that is provided in a vicinity of the identified camera as taught and/or suggested by Haas in order to protect the camera with an anti-fog as disclosed in para 0037 by Haas.
Claims 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garces in view of Okamoto and in view of Churchill (US 20150234545).
Regarding claim 18, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the display device of claim 16, and Garces further discloses, the display device is further configured to:
in response to a received user input to display at least one image out of the first image [[and the second image]] is received, receive the at least one image out of the first image [[and the second image]] from the microwave (disclosed in para 0034 “Once received by controller 510A, the image signal may be further processed at controller 510A or transmitted to a separate device (e.g., remote server 404—FIG. 5) in live or real-time for remote viewing (e.g., via one or more social media platforms)”).
However, Garces in view of Okamoto does not explicitly disclose wherein while content is displayed the processor is further configured to:
overlap the received at least one image with the content; and
display the received at least one image with the content.
Nonetheless, Churchill teaches, wherein while a content (see first stage 202 in Fig. 2) is being displayed on the display device (see television 104 in Fig. 2), wherein the display device (see television 104 in Fig. 2) is configured to overlap the received at least one image with the content (see stage 204 with video chat in Fig. 2 and third stage 206 with fill overlay menu 402 in Fig. 4) and display the received at least one image with the content (see live TV in Figs. 1-5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the processor of the display device of Garces wherein while a content is being displayed on the display device, and the display device is configured to overlap the received at least one image with the content; and display the received at least one image with the content as taught/suggested by Churchill in order to obtain a multitasking mode for viewing the television program along with another application as disclosed in para 0016 by Churchill.
Regarding claim 19, Garces in view of Okamoto discloses, the display device of claim 16.
However, Garces in view of Okamoto does not explicitly disclose, wherein the processor is further configured to, in response to a received user input to change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image, changes at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image according to the received user input.
Churchill further teaches, wherein the display device (104) is further configured to, in response to a received user input to change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image, change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image according to the received user input (see Figs. 1-5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the processor of the display device of Garces wherein the display device is further configured to, in response to a received user input to change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image, change at least one of a size and a position of the displayed at least one image according to the received user input as taught/suggested by Churchill in order to obtain a multitasking mode for viewing the television program along with another application as disclosed in para 0016 by Churchill.
Conclusion
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/VY T NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761